REVIEW: Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal at Ryze 15-02-14 by Jeet Ghoshal

It was blistering cold when my friends and I arrived at RYZE on Friday, February 15th, 2014. Upon entering, I had noticed that the layout of the venue had been changed. The bar and booth area adjacent to coat check was closed down. As a result there were more booths in a tighter space on the dance floor. By no means were these in the way, they lined the right side of the dance floor, and the back of the venue, in front of the speakers. Seeing as how RYZE is traditionally a techno club, I could understand the more intimate setting for their first trance show. One thing I will say though, is that I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with security and never have I spoken with such polite security guards than I had at Ryze that night. They were helpful, nice, understanding and most importantly, they smiled. It was a pleasant surprise and definitely something that made my night that much better. Additionally, the organizers of the event could be seen all over the venue tending to the needs of the staff and the patrons—making sure everyone was happy and everything was running smoothly. It was clear from their demeanor that this night was important to them.

After taking all that in, as well as a couple of drinks, my friends and I found our spot on the dance floor. We got there relatively early, around 11:00 p.m., people were still filing in and mingling before the festivities that lay ahead. Greg Baranov, the opener, was hard at work easing the crowd into their groove with smooth progressive trance. This was the first time I had heard Baranov and I was very happy with his work. The atmosphere was casual and bouncy. Closer to the end of his set, Baranov transitioned into heavier tech-trance. At this point the club had filled up, but there was plenty of room to cut through the crowd and dance. The volume increased, the lights started bouncing off the walls, as did the patrons. They were ready, titillating at the thought of the first headliner, Ronski Speed, taking the decks.

This was also my first time hearing Ronski Speed. The other sets that I had listened to in preparation for tonight were jam packed with trance anthems and mash ups, and this night was no different. Ronski Speed started his set off with his classic Rise Again featuring the vocals of Lucy Saunders, but that was the last predictable thing he played (click here to listen to this track). Going from Khomha, to Above and Beyond, and then to Markus Schulz, Ronski Speed kept the dancers on their toes, no one knew what to expect next. He even, elegantly I might add, mashed up In and Out Love by Armin van Buuren feating Sharon den Adel with Epic by Sandro Silva and quintino. The hipster in me wanted to hate it because it wasn’t trance, but the music lover in me won this battle and I enjoyed it whole-heartedly while dancing. He settled into a darker, heavier crevice of trance, only to pull the listeners out for but a moment to bask in the euphonic vocals and uplifting chords trance is known for. It was a blissful trance set; the perfect mix of dark, heavy tech-trance that made you want to dance until your legs fell off and mesmerizing, feel good tracks that made you close your eyes, throw your head back and drown in euphoria. All too soon, Ronski Speed was bidding RYZE adieu and making way the next artist.

I didn’t think that it was possible, but Stoneface & Terminal pushed the speakers even further right from the get go. Speaking with the organizers afterwards, they commented that “upon realizing what sound system they were playing on Stoneface & Terminal went absolutely berserk.” The basslines were death-defying and were only punctuated by seductive vocals and high-frequency melodies. I was positive the speakers were going to blow, but they held their own against one of their, seemingly, biggest tests yet. Stoneface & Terminal took RYZE in another direction, playing a lot of their original work and diving right into the roots of the Euphonic sound.

Finally, after leaving the dance floor confused, dazed and distraught, Stoneface &Terminal ended their set and let local trance phenomena Saad Ayub finish the night off. I’m used to closers carrying the energy from the headliner for a while before easing off the gas pedal and slowly lulling me into a groove before gently sending me on my way. Saad did not get the memo, apparently, for he came out guns blazing and explored yet another sub-genre of trance for his closing masterpiece. The speakers weren’t given any break as the percussive bass lines of psy-trance gave them one last test before they took a break. My love for triplets and that distinctive psy-trance sound fueled my legs and body to keep going.

There was no opener or closer this night. It was one long trance-themed conversation the entire night, starting off calm and cool, moving into the more vigorous and energetic portion and finally ending with erratic, deranged themes typical of any conversation passed 3 a.m. My last morsel of energy was spent when the vocals of Cosmic Gate trance hit, Fire Wire were laid over Neelix’s Expect What and morphed in a psy-trance gem. Listen to Saad Ayub’s closing set as episode 53 of his Tranced Podcast right here:

All-in-all, I was highly impressed with the night. Going forward, I sincerely hope the trance events at RYZE grow in popularity and in attendance. As such, I cannot wait until Kyau and Albert headline RYZE on March 15th, 2014 for undoubtedly, another night to remember.

LINKS:

Stoneface & Terminal

Ronski Speed